Montecristo Reserva Negra Robusto

Quick, when I say "Mexico" what do you think of? I can pretty much guarantee no one thought of cigars. Well Montecristo decided to wrap it's latest cigar in a maduro wrapper from Mexico. Sounds good to me and it looks great. Plus I really enjoy the gold and black label Montecristo has brought back as it gives it sort of a distinguished look. So what give's with the Mexican wrapper?

Situated on the east coast of Southern Mexico lies the coastal state of Veracruz and the San Andres valley. This is pretty good soil thanks to thousands of years of volcanic activity and it shows well in this cigar. You may remember the review from yesterday which was also a maduro wrapped cigar but different soil gives the tobacco a completely different taste profile. Check my notes after the break!

La Cuesta-Rey Centenario Robusto No. 7

Chocolate is great and who doesn't like chocolate! Now I'm sure many of you agreed with that statement but less of you will agree that chili peppers are also great. "What do chili's have to do with chocolate?", you may ask yourself. Well, there are actually chili infused chocolate's out there. In fact, I gave one such creation to my father a few Easter's ago and he loved it. I thought it was an interesting combo but gave it a try as well and I have to admit it's pretty good. What does chocolate and chili's have anything to do with cigars? I found out that the two are not that dissimilar.

Cuesta-Rey has been around a long time, since 1884, and started in Cuba like so many other cigar brands but then moved to the Dominican which is where they are produced today. You may notice that in the picture the cigar is very dark and almost a little hairy and you're suspicions are correct! The maduro wrapper give's cigar's an almost bittersweet, chocolate taste to them so it's great if you're a fan of chocolate. See my notes after the break for the full rundown.

What's Coming Up!

Folks, I have to apologize for the dearth of post's lately. I have been working on a big project over the weekend but unfortunately the results are not in quite yet. Needless to say, this will hopefully benefit all of you once I am done with this project. I ask you to hold tight as long as you can and promise that your regular, outstanding reviews will continue tomorrow as regularly scheduled and once the project is complete it will be revealed right here on The Finer Things...

Thanks for your patience and hope you all had a great weekend as well!

H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon Belicoso

I had the pleasure of having Tom Oristian, Co-Founder of Lucy Phone join me for this review. Lucy Phone is a great service to utilize if you hate waiting on hold!

When I think of Cameroon I think of dark, wet, lush jungle and probably strife, sorry...just being real. It's location next to a few countries that can't seem to keep their borders in one place for more than a few years rubs off on Cameroon and people can't help but think of war, strife, etc... Well, folks, after smoking this little beauty I have completely changed my mind about Cameroon!

H. Upmann has been around for well over 100 years and have been flying under the radar recently with some of the bigger brands like Montecristo, A. Fuente, Padron, etc... taking the spotlight in our collective minds and I think it's about time H. Upmann got some credit where credit is due. The H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon Belicoso has a nice cedar wrapper dressing it accordingly before you even begin. What the cedar wrapper hides, though, is a fantastic value and taste. See my notes after the break!

2008 Novella Synergy Blanc

This is another find from Trader Joe's much like our BV Coastal Estates Pinot Noir. Only problem is that Novella isn't really a winery and a quick Google search confirmed my suspicions when I got home. It's made by EOS Estate Winery and in Trader Joe's typical fashion they made up a label specifically for this wine to be re-branded from EOS. Not a big deal but just in case you go looking for this at another store you might be hard pressed to find another example. It's a blended white and the good news is that they give you the breakdown of what's in the bottle so you can try to find a similar blend at another store if you want to. 55.6% Sauvignon Blanc, 40.8% Chardonnay, 3.3% Muscat Canelli and 0.3% Pinot Grigio (not even sure why they have Pinot on the label but whatever...).

Now I'm not normally a white fan because I enjoy my French red's a great deal but at this price it wasn't a total wash so I chilled it for the evening. I figured I would try a white with the seasons changing and the ability to stay outside for longer periods of time meant I could enjoy this on the porch in the evening with the wifey.I find most white's too sweet for my taste so I was hesitant to try this but after my first sip I was pleasantly delighted from what I found inside this bottle.

Check my notes after the break to find out my thoughts!

Great List to Get Started

I was searching around for some good articles to bring you when I came across this piece at The Robb Report, pretty much the antitheses to The Finer Things. But, after looking through the specifics I thought I would share since it includes some pretty good information and can help you get started with Cigar's. It's tough to know where to begin because you can walk into a cigar shops humidor and feel overwhelmed pretty quickly with the tens to hundreds of boxes on the walls from various brands and sub-brands, not to mention the sizes. So consider this a good starting point as it has lighter to fuller cigars for every price bracket and you should be able to find something in a shop or get a good recommendation based on these at least.

Feel free to leave any questions or thoughts about getting started with Cigars in the comments and I'll be happy to answer them as best I can.

[Source: Robb Report]

Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Epicure

Ever been punched in the face? No, well trust me it's not a fun experience and unfortunately it happened to me again the other night. Hoyo de Monterrey has been around for quite some time and the Excalibur line a came into existence as the fuller bodied blend of regular Hoyo de Monterrey cigars. The top 10% of the tobacco crop grown in Nicaragua and Honduras is reserved for the Excalibur line. Now top 10% sounds pretty impressive to me and normally this is the case like when your teacher would tell you "you finished in the top 10% on this test" you naturally feel pretty good about yourself. So I grabbed this cigar with that same feeling of self-confidence knowing that Hoyo de Monterrey wouldn't steer me wrong with the top 10% of their plants!

Well....remember that analogy above...yeah..I found out what top 10% means to these gents in Honduras. Check my notes after the break...

Tito's Handmade Vodka

I know there are those of you out there who read the title and thought, "a Vodka post? I'm never drinking that stuff again. That one night in college ruined it for me forever!" That's an unfortunate situation but hopefully you can move past it like we all have with one liquor or another at some point in our lives (tequila anyone?). Point being, if you want to give Vodka a try again you would have to go pretty far to beat this in terms of taste and value.

The interesting part of it all is that it's made in Austin, TX. Not France or Russia or some other far flung place but here in the states. The guy who started it all, Tito, is a classic case study in hard work paying off and we get to reap the rewards of all his hard work.

But the taste is where it shines.  See my notes after the break...

Great Inexpensive Wine List

While searching high and low to bring you the best deals I discovered that some of the guess work has already been done for me. Wine Enthusiast Magazine compiled a list of the Top 100 Best Buys of 2009 and you can check out the full article below.

They found, as most of us already know, there are some great buys in the sub-$15 range for wine and they offer an exceptional taste for their price. Also, this is good to keep around if you are planning a party as Cakebread might get a little expensive when you are buying 20+ bottles for friends and family to share. 

I am going to start to make my way through the list and post reviews along the way but feel free to join in on this as well and send in your suggestions if you beat me to a great one on there.

Warning: List is a PDF file so I've included a link to the article to save you some trouble.

[Source: Wine Enthusiast Magazine]

New Davidoff Puro d'Oro Series

Davidoff is about to release a new, all-dominican Puro series. They should be released on April 27th at the flagship store in New York so if you are in the area, try and swing by and let us know your thoughts.

The presentation is not typical of Davidoff because the word Davidoff does not appear on the cigar. It also doesnt have a  traditional cigar band. Instead, the cigars have narrow golden footbands with beading on the edge with the name of the cigar size in an embossed relief type. Each cigar has a tight pigtail cap.


Davidoff’s Puro d’Oro will come in four sizes, all of them relatively small, traditional sizes. The Magnifico is a robusto size, Notable is a corona gorda, Deliciosos is a corona and the Sublime is a short panetela.

[Source: Cigar Aficionado]

Virgina Gentleman 90 Proof Small Batch Bourbon

We here at The Finer Things strive to bring you the best bang for your buck. We set this standard in order for the average joe to stretch his dollar without sacrificing taste, or even the wealthy...to stay wealthy at least... At any rate, I search high and low for these bargains and it often backfires on me in the liquor department because there is a direct correlation to the amount spent and the taste you get. It's an unfortunate side effect of the supply and demand charts from our days in school that still haunt us to this day. But what is a guy (or gal) to do when they are searching for that perfect blend of taste and price? Are we relegated to Aristocrat or Vladimir forever? I can't answer those questions for every type of liquor, at least not yet...were working on that answer, but for bourbon I have the perfect solution. I have found the "holy grain" or the "x factor" in those supply and demand charts in Virgina Gentleman 90 Proof Small Batch Bourbon!

La Aurora 1495 Series Corona

Big shout out to King Street Emporium for sending us this great cigar to review! 

We know from the previous post that La Aurora has been around since 1903 and are celebrating their 107 years in business with a new series that should be out by the time you read this. The 1495 Series, however, has been around for a few years and I hope they continue this series of cigar is it stands by itself as a testament to the quality that La Aurora has been making in these past 107 years. The 1495 Series heralds the founding of Santiago in the Dominican Republic. I also had the pleasure of having Carson Martin, self-proclaimed wine critic in Charlotte, NC, join me for this review.

When you first grasp this cigar it feels small, almost puny in your hands because it is a much loser fill than the previous Arturo Fuente and a smaller ring gauge as well, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in in taste. See my notes below the break...

BV Coastal Estates Pinot Noir

For those of you who do not have a Trader Joe's in your area, my deepest sympathy's. It's a wonderful grocery store with excellent prices, good food and a great, inexpensive wine selection. A few minutes of searching through various wines on the shelf I decided I would give this Pinot a try. After uncorking and pouring myself a glass I could tell it needed to sit and open up a bit before it should be consumed. This was not unexpected as many red wines need this treatment, especially at first pour but what came next was totally unexpected.

La Aurora celebrates birthday, we get the presents

This year marks the 107th year La Aurora has been in business. Starting back in 1903, around the same time the 1st Tour de France took place, La Aurora has created wonderful cigars and they are celebrating their birthday by creating a special blend of tobaccos for us to enjoy. It should bring a balanced flavor that is peppery, sweet and provides toasty notes. The cigars are being packed in boxes of twenty-one (21) and will come in three (3) sizes priced from $6 to $8:

• Robusto (4.5 x 50)
• Toro (5.5 x 54)
• Belicoso (6.25 x 52)

And should be available as of April 1 so stop by your local shop and see if you can grab one and tell us your impressions in the comments. If you have tried any of their previous cigars, these should be knockouts by anyone's standard!

[Source: Cigar Aficionado]

Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente Sun Grown

So here is my initial review of a cigar. I came across this in a local shop and was looking for a fuller bodied cigar and this didn't disappoint. This is not a beginners cigar by any means and would fall into the medium+ category. It comes in a beautiful cedar jacket at about 4.5in. in length but don't let it's size fool you as this is a tightly packed cigar that can hang with the big boys.


Read on to find out my tasting notes and rating!

Simple Solution for Storing Cigars...

As a fan of Cigar's I always enjoy sharing my collection with friends over a bit of scotch on a Saturday afternoon (watching sports is preferable of course) but the topic of storing cigars always comes up. Many people enjoy the idea of a cigar while playing poker, out on the golf course, or reading the paper but are worried about buying a box or keeping more than one or two around because they will dry out. A humidor is a fantastic option but many view it to be a specialty item they will never use and are normally very expensive at the store. You can try to buy one on-line but without seeing it or knowing what to look for, it can be very confusing as some brands are poorly constructed and will do nothing for your cigars.

Read on to find out the simple solution to storing your cigars!

First Post

Hello all! This blog will be dedicated to the finer things in life and my reviews on them. Item's will include Wine, Liquor, Cigars, Cheese, and other assorted items I deem fit. I will do my best to grab a picture and/or label from the web for each item I review so if you find my review favorable you can go try the same item or at least go to your local shop and ask for a recommendation on a similar product. I'm a little new to the blogging so will try my best to keep you all updated on my adventures. Feel free to contact me with any recommendations of products you feel I should review.